Orval clone

[Toilet Rocker]

There was a recipe posted in BYO's May/June issue for an Orval clone. Has anyone tried this one yet?

 

[SwAMi75]

I haven't found anything definite, but here are a couple leads:

http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=22672&hl=orval

http://www.tastybrew.com/forum/thread/36925

I think between the three recipes there, you should be able to piece something together.

Orval has a very dry finish....I think the yeast is the most important aspect. Note that one recipe calls for an addition of brettanomyces.

I don't have that edition of BYO....maybe someone who does will come along and enlighten both of us.

 

[Turricaine]

Is candi sugar even worth paying the extra? As far as I can decipher brown sugar would work just as well. What is the advantage in using candi sugar?

 

[Steve973]

Brown sugar is simply regular table sugar mixed with molasses. Belgian candy sugar, on the other hand, has had its molecule split from sucrose to glucose and fructose with citric acid and heat. During the process, it's allowed to carmelize. Apparently, using regular table sugar can cause souring or a cidery flavor after fermentation, so that might be a reason to avoid any table sugar.

 

[Toilet Rocker]

Thanks for the info, guys. I guess no one on this board has tried cloning it yet?

Sam, that second link in particular seemed pretty helpful. I'll have to do some research into brettanomyces. Has anyone had experiece with this, or with culturing?

Judging by the claim that you should keep fermentation close to 59 degrees, I'll try this one when my apt starts getting cooler--definitely not in the summertime.

While we're on this, which way is it pronounced Or'-vl or Or-val' ? I've heard both.

 

[andre the giant]

too bad I can't clone Orval bottles. Their bottles are works of art.

 

[Rhoobarb]

I guess how you pronounce it depends on where you come from - the 'po-ta-to, po-tah-to' thing.

Nice pics and info on their brewery: http://www.orval.be/an/products/brewery/brewery3.html

 

[Toilet Rocker]

Orval cheese...that's terrific. that's terrific.

 

[SwAMi75]

Thanks for the info, guys. I guess no one on this board has tried cloning it yet?

Sam, that second link in particular seemed pretty helpful. I'll have to do some research into brettanomyces. Has anyone had experiece with this, or with culturing?

Judging by the claim that you should keep fermentation close to 59 degrees, I'll try this one when my apt starts getting cooler--definitely not in the summertime.

While we're on this, which way is it pronounced Or'-vl or Or-val' ? I've heard both.

A word of caution on brewing with "bretts". They are damn near impossible to get rid of. It's generally recommended to use a seperate set of equipment (i.e. fermenter, racking equipment, etc) for brews using those strains. They can easily infect your "standard" batches.

 

[Toilet Rocker]

Ah, sort of like brewing lambics? I would think that a glass carboy would be safe to reuse, but I definitely understand replacing the other equipment. Amazing how resilient those lil' creatures can be.